cval52

At first ever photo retreat and what a day! Tripod fell apart first thing....was able to fix with camping tools in car and help from other attendees/instructor. Then camera appeared to be stuck in bulb mode. Well Nikon D800 has a wheel on top left with a Q. I usually keep my camer set to C-HS. Evidently it flipped over to Q which appears to be bulb mode. So. Sorted that out. Then after freezing my rear end off to get some amazing shots, I downloaded my files to my laptop.... wait, thats odd..no jpg on second card?? And 200 missing files on card number 1. I really hope that’s all Murphy had in store for me and that the fun is over! Will day I learned a lot anyway! I checked my camera settings against my husband’s, whose D800 worked great all day, and they are the same. May be off to Bedt Buy for nee memory cards today!

wormtownspawn

also, always format your cards everytime before using after uploading the contents. it helps keep them honest .and if possible, format them in the camera, not the computer. it keeps the communication cleaner.

cval52

I do that. Just got the camera back from a major overhaul and settings were screwed up.

Joe Blow

Formatting your card does nothing to make your card healthier. All it does is write a code to each sector that it is available to be written to. What it does do is put another read/write on that sector. A full format will also check to see if any sectors are damaged and will mark those sectors. A simple delete is enough.

If the camera didn't write all the photos to the card, the problem is most likely in your settings, not the card. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with having a spare card.

Now, I have been wrong before so what you might do is try a recovery program. Before doing that though, check the numbers of each photo. The camera assigns the numbers consecutively so if there are no holes, all that was taken was written. If there are holes then run the recovery program. "Recuva" is one of the better known and I believe it is still free. Put the card in your computer or in a card reader and run the recover program from Windows Explorer. Your card should show up as a drive, probably "F". Save the entire folder to a separate file. Check this folder for missing files.

After this you might want to do a full format to mark all bad sectors. Check two or three times. If the number of bad sectors increases or is greater than 2% bad then I would change out the card.

On that rare opportunity I am wrong again, check the card. Check the contacts. A full size SD card will have nine contacts and a micro will have eight but the micro adapter will have nine on the outside. Look for loose or missing contacts without being rough on them. Look inside the camera card compartment for debris or broken contacts.

NOTE: The biggest failure of cards is in the physically removing them and reinserting them. That causes wear on the contacts. It is best to leave them in the camera and use the USB to d/l your photos.

OK, back to the files. If the recovery program didn't find files but there are still missing numbers, your camera didn't write them. If there is one large block then I hope it is a glitch. If it was sporadic and random then you might have other problems. Either way, I would reset the camera to factory setting and reload the Nikon program. The chances are pretty good that this will reoccur.

Sorry I can't help you more than that. PM me if you need any more info.

Joe Blow

OK, I just read you just had the camera overhauled. The first place I would look is the camera not writing. The OS needs flashing.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Pilot's have a pre flight check list, when I did wedding photography, I did a pre check on every piece of equipment the night before the wedding. I strongly suggest you do the same. PLAN YOUR WORK AND WORK YOUR PLAN.

In-lightened Loc: Kansas City

This has saved me and bit me when I failed to do my check list the night before. Habits are wonderful things in this case!

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Whenever you send your camera in for anything, cleaning, firmware update etc., you must go over all of your settings again. ALL your settings. They are usually changed back to default settings by the tech that worked on your camera or by firmware updates.

About your tripod. Well, you don't say which tripod you have but I can tell you this. Just by the description of the problems you had I think you had the kind that has clamping legs. These are the kind that will require more maintenance that any other type of tripod. The twist lock legs are way more dependable. Also, a good tripod will have come with a tool for tightening those clapping legs. So this also leads me to think that you either didn't know this, or that the tool is missing, or that it's an off brand of tripod that didn't come with the tool. For instance, a good Manfrotto tripod has the tool attached to the tripod so that it's there with you all the time should it need an adjustment. I have one with those clamps but because it's a Manfrotto, a very good tripod, it's never gone out of adjustment.

As far as your settings go, you'll get the hang of it with experience. Just keep shooting and don't ask for help every time you need to change a setting in your camera. Go through the settings, or manual and find it yourself. You will remember them easier if you put effort into helping yourself with those things.

Newsbob Loc: SF Bay Area

Recuva is still free.

aellman Loc: Boston MA

What a perfect example of Murphy's Law. Anything that can go wrong will, at the worst possible time. That's why I have backups for EVERYTHING. >Alan